The Phoenix Suns reaching the NBA Finals is one of the most improbable events in the sport's history.
Let's just start there. Pick where you draw the line, whether it was their decade in a playoff-less abyss before this season, or that they were 26-39 last year going into the Orlando, Florida, bubble, or that as late as April their championship odds were around +2,500.
It's a ridiculous turn regardless of the one-off nature of this season, with all its injuries and derailments. Almost as ridiculous as Chris Paul having the biggest scoring half of his career -- 31 of his 41 points in the Suns' Game 6 130-103 win over the LA Clippers -- in the second half of a closeout game to get to the Finals.
There were countless acts that led to the Suns' victory and Paul holding the Western Conference title trophy with tears in his eyes Wednesday night.
"We've seen the bottom of the bottom for multiple years," said Devin Booker, who won just 30% of his games and had six head coaches over his first five seasons in Phoenix.
"I've been through a lot of bulls---, honestly. I've put my head down and I've worked."
It feels like karma was at work for sure. This franchise has been loaded with horrid luck dating back to 1969, when the Suns lost a coin flip for the chance to draft Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Instead, they got Neal Walk. Jerry Colangelo, then the general manager, was so distraught that he drove around aimlessly for hours after hearing the result over the phone.
In 1976, the Suns were tied 2-2 in the Finals before losing a triple-overtime game to the Boston Celtics in one of the most bitter losses the league had seen and were done in Game 6. In 1993, with MVP Charles Barkley, they ran into Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. In 2005, Joe Johnson broke his eye socket in the playoffs. In 2007, Steve Nash's unstoppable bloody nose and Amare Stoudemire's suspension happened.
In a postseason that has seen superstars go down everywhere, Paul and Booker have managed to dodge both major injury and illness.
"I've been on the other end of so many losses. I know what that feels like," said Paul, who has seen three of his playoff runs end in injury.
"If you put the work in, you live with the outcome. We've worked. We're a work team. It was good to see it all come together."
Most teams that win at the highest levels overcome their share of adversity. Who knows where the Suns rank in that regard, but they've had a lot.
Head coach Monty Williams was fired after leading the New Orleans Pelicans to the playoffs in 2015, a setback that badly damaged his career.
Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 and few thought he would have a chance to contend while playing out his contract. His last two All-Star seasons are an ultimate rebuttal, with this Finals berth the crowning achievement of a Hall of Fame career.
The icing on the cake is that he's leaning toward opting out of the $44 million final year of his deal, league sources said, because he has been so great that he's now in a position to lock in a new deal for tens of millions more in Phoenix or elsewhere. Now that is an answer.
Booker has dealt with continued disrespect, the stink of the team's ineptitude rubbing off on his reputation and the smudge that comes with a turnstile on the coach's office. This first playoff run, in which he's averaging 27.0 points per game, has vastly elevated his status and probably altered his reputation forever. He has a guaranteed spot on Team USA, and there will be a jet waiting on the runway after the Finals to immediately whisk him to Tokyo as he's considered a vital part of the national team.
You could keep going down the roster, from Cameron Payne, who started last season playing in China, to Cameron Johnson, who was mocked for being picked 20 spots too high in the draft, to Torrey Craig, who got cut by the Milwaukee Bucks in March.
The Suns' entire run is a story of unexpected redemption -- in stunningly quick fashion.
Last season, after the Suns finished on an 8-0 stretch in the bubble that still left them a game out of the playoffs, Williams made an impassioned speech in a makeshift locker room at Walt Disney World Resort.
"We want to be the kind of team that controls our own destiny," Williams said. "That's our next step."
Game 1 of the NBA Finals, no matter the opponent, will be in Phoenix next week. Whether they're a team of destiny or they're controlling it themselves, the Suns are writing a unique story.
"It's a long time coming," said Booker, his nose still bleeding postgame, appropriately sounding older than his 24 years. "We've been waiting on this moment right here."
NBA playoffs 2021 - Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns' road to the NBA Finals is unprecedented - ESPN Philippines
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